Oh NO!

It's the last day of my stash down year.  I think it's been successful.  I've managed to get over 3,000 yards of yarn out of my stash instead of added in.  I might get this yarn thing under control yet!


I finished these socks: Yarn that has been in my stash so long it's discontinued and I don't know where I bought it.

















Last night I made some cute coasters.  I'd have put pictures up but blogger is being less than helpful and wouldn't let me continue writing after putting them in the post.  So you'll have to wait to see them when I have more patience.

Another finished project!

And here is the second silk sweater this Spring:

I need to get the craft room cleaned up enough that I can put up the dress maker's dummy.  Things look so much nicer on a body shape.  This silk is so pretty, it actually looks like silver.  

Silk sweater - again

I'm knitting another worsted single ply silk sweater.  This time I'm using Tilli Tomas Pure and Simple.  What a difference the yarn makes.  This hasn't been even a little bit twisty, and there are many fewer lumpy, slubby bits.

The only really annoying part is - the pattern calls for 5 skeins.  I ordered one extra as a just incase, dye lot protection.  But I've barely started the 3rd skein and I have less than 1/2 the last sleeve left.  This yarn is WAY too expensive to have that much left over.   I could likely return it, except it's a special order since the store didn't have enough of a dye lot for the sweater.

However - I'm making a cardigan and I decided (knowing I was going to have sufficient left over yarn) to make a tank as well.  A cute little sweater set for work.  I wonder if I can manage to accomplish that by month end?

EDITED TO ADD: I've finished the knitting.  When I went to get the other pieces so I could start sewing this together I discovered there were 3 (three!!!) skeins left untouched.  That is utterly ridiculous.  I made this sweater 3 inches longer through the body.  If I'd only purchased the amount in the pattern I'd have had 2 skeins left over. - That's $60 worth of yarn: ABSOLUTELY INSANE!  I am going to see if the yarn store will accept it back, even if it's only for in-store credit (I'll use that happily enough).   I won't be too upset if they don't - they do say they don't accept returns on special orders.  But they do carry this yarn so there may be a chance. We'll see.

Yesterday was busy

I went to Iowa and visited with new friends.  Knowing that I was going to spend the day somewhere not conducive to complicated knitting I snagged some yarn with the pattern dyed in and my favorite plain vanilla pattern. (the thing I dislike about Plain Vanilla socks?  It makes short feet look even shorter!)  I did an extra good job matching the yarn for both socks - don't you agree?

 And then I got to the heel turn.  Why is that one stripe just a little wider?

 This caused the following problem. Well, that and, apparently, the blue speckled strip is also a little longer on one section. I'm miffed.
 

Blast!  All that work and I'm still thwarted! Next time I'm not even going to bother trying.  (like I've NEVER said that before)

First Finish of May

New Socks!  Two Socks!

Entrelac Socks - Cast On Aug/Oct 2009
Noro Kureyon Sock

I love the look of these, hate this yarn.  Slubby, uneven and scratchy.  If it's like other Noro I've used it will wash up beautiful.

What a weekend!

My mother and father came to visit this weekend.  There was shopping and gifting and knitting, lots of knitting.   Mother brought me some lovely unspun (at my request, although I didn't expect enough for the whole sweater) The pattern I decided I want to make is Two Yoke Sweater (SPP4) from Schoolhouse Press:

She bought the pattern at Knitting Camp, she tells me she ordered the icelandic unspun to make it with later.  But she doesn't intend to knit it anymore (or so I assume)  I only meant to get her leftover unspun from the hat she made and then order the main body color but now I don't have to do that.  I'm not really sure I can manage to knit a sweater in unspun (in the past when I've tried to knit with it I've pulled it apart and become terribly frustrated) but I'm going to try.  Just as soon as I finish the Red/black/yellow Tradition.  

I also ordered some silk for a sweater when we were at Personal Threads. I miss the variety and options of all the yarn stores in Minneapolis/St. Paul,  but Personal Threads is operated by some really nice people.   The pattern will make use of some lovely silk (with beads) that my mother gifted me with a few years ago.  

And to make matters even better -  she is taking one of my old patterns to make  a sweater and while we were discussing what yarn she should use I realized that I had the perfect wool for her.  She's not sure of the color but I think it's a nice shade for her, a purply-blue denim shade.   All in all, between the yarn I asked for (which goes into stash) and the yarn I gave her I think I might break even-ish in the stash-out.   Unfortunately I have managed to obtain enough yarn for three sweaters in the last week.  

I Must Knit Faster!

Unfortunately it rained all weekend so we didn't get to do any of the touristy things we talked about.  The botanical gardens would have been great, but not in the rain.  Same for the zoo.  

Oh - more yarn!

My loving mother sent me a present.  This pattern and yarn kit:

I know, I needed more yarn, right?  It was surprise gift yarn so it doesn't add to my stash.  I was contemplating buying it though. 

 Right after I finished the Black, Yellow and Red sweater that I started.  I have managed two pattern sets on the sleeves and the body.  So far I think it's turning out well.  

Of course now the trouble is, do I cast on the new one or make myself wait?

Checking in update

What a week this has been.  I have finished all the things in my travel knitting bag.  I usually have a few things that need ends woven in, maybe a seam finished (or refinished if I didn't like it) and a simple knitting project or two.

So it was back to my WIP pile.  I put the gold sweater I'm working on for mother back in the bag and a sock that needs a second to the pair.  Of course I'm unable to find the needles for the socks (not a surprise to me - but where are all the 2.5mm dpns?  I don't have any socks on needles that size as far as I know.

I spent yesterday working on getting more things straightened out and put away.  It will take me at least a year to get unpacked from the moving.  Just in time to move again, I suppose.

I have made some progress on the new Philosopher's Wool sweater, but not enough for good pictures.  I have also found the pattern for Mary Tudor so I am working on that again.  Lots of colorwork in my future. It's unfortunate that colorwork just isn't more portable.  But dragging 8 or more balls of yarn and keeping track of the pattern while visiting might overtax my attention span.

April!?

I can't believe I lost 1/2 of April.

I finished my orchid silk sweater:

Detail of the yoke 

And the Dilemma Dress:  I think it looks like I skinned  a Muppet, but I can't wait until I have a reason to wear it. Also - YIKES, Stripes!  It doesn't look this stripy in person - probably because of the fuzziness of the mohair.

I am also very pleased that both of these were made with yarn I purchased without a purpose.  I'm actually enjoying watching the numbers change.  I think I need to save some money for a cedar closet for my knitted things.  Omaha is home to Nebraska Furniture Mart - which has to be the largest furniture store I have ever been in.  They have a cedar closet I like, unfortunately it seems quite expensive to my thrifty taste.  However, it could go on sale this fall/winter.  I hope.

I have started one of the Philosopher's Wool sweaters I stashed.  Another Tradition, this one in reds, yellow and black.  I still love this pattern and this yarn.  I am however attempting to work this one using EZ's EPS instructions.  I hope it works out.  It seemed so simple this time.  It isn't the first I've done so it may be familiarity making it seem not so scary as the first time. Any time something seems too easy I worry a little.

Solved!

I Love Ravelry! Someone on the In Search Of group had this pattern book and was willing to part with it for $11 (thanks again to the Raveler who suggested it!). Which was fine with me. And the pattern arrived today! Quick work by the USPS.

Here is the yarn, purchased at the Yarn Cafe during their spring sale, the year before they closed.

But first I have to finish this sweater:

I have the front, back and most of one sleeve finished. Somehow I doubt I will get it done by my Saturday deadline, but I'm going to try.

Spring has Sprung! Yay!

Another delimna

I found this pattern. I think this is SO cute. I have the yarn (a lovely purple/blue mohair) but I do not have this pattern. Problem 1) The book is $15 and $5 for shipping, cripes, for one pattern. There isn't anything else in the book that I'm interested in. 2) - Am I too old to wear things like this?! I'm not ancient, but 45 isn't really young, either. Hmm?! Oh, the (melo)drama.

Spring has gone right into Summer

I will finish Thermal (sewing up and weaving in ends) today. It's lovely.

I've also chosen my next pattern to cast on - Yoke Detail Pullover. I hope I can find the yarn quickly.

I've also finished my Peacock Shawl. It's beautiful, but I don't have enough blocking mats to block it out properly.

I also made another Market bag. These are really quick to work up and nice to use. I plan a few more before the month is over. Adara is great yarn for this project. I'm really sad they discontinued it. I'm very glad that someone bought a large quantity and was willing to let me have it.

Today I went to the Omaha Botanical gardens with friends. It was really nice, it will be even better next week when more things are blooming. And May/June when all the trees have leafed out it will be amazing. I will be going back. I could have taken my camera and had a few pictures for the blog, but I NEVER remember to do that. Perhaps next time!

They had a deadly plants display inside, which was really interesting. And Cacti. I wonder how they move all those large plants/planters when they change the theme. It must be an enormous undertaking. Oh - and they have a corpse flower, I wouldn't mind seeing it in bloom, just to see it.

Knitting continues. I have finished the sleeves and am ready to pickup the neck on my Thermal. This might be my new favorite sweater, on the yarn love alone.

I have to pick up stitches on my stranded socks. Some cat pulled the needles out.

I am not sure how they continue to live.

I have cast on the bottom band of this sweater:

It's quite lovely and the smallest size is HUGE. More than 10 inches of ease. I really think I need to resize it. Or make a pillow. I might be unknitting what I've started and shove this back in the stash while I think on it (again).

But the whole idea for pulling it out was to knit something in a bigger weight since everything I've been working on lately has been sport weight or smaller. But the other thing I'm interested in starting is Chromatic which is fingering weight, defeating the purpose of starting something new as a break from knitting all the fine yarn.

The weather in Omaha is turning warm. I'm looking forward to sitting on my patio in the evenings. I'm thinking about putting my rocker out with the camp table. Hopefully there won't be much in the way of rain or theft.

Things knit - So far

I always mean to get back and update the blog, but I'm always thinking I'll find better words later.

Finally finished the Hogwarts socks - I haven't had a chance to wear them yet, but I love them all the same:

Finished up a Lore Hoodie for Spring wear:

Managed two pairs of socks:

I also made some felted balls:

Sorry the picture is so dark - I'm not a skilled photographer.

A new pair of slippers

But I still haven't managed to put together a useful blog post.

I am a bad blogger

I have no excuse for not updating this except lack of focus. I've even been knitting so I have things I could talk about.

Next weekend I'm going to a hobby group meeting in Kansas. My traveling companion has agreed to stop at the Yarn Barn on the way home. I am very excited. This is not a good thing for my plan to knit more than I purchase. I can't decide: this should not count toward stash - one time trip/special circumstance: or just accept the inevitable.

I will have the same problem when I head to Minneapolis for the Yarn Shop Hop in April.

First finished project of 2012

I knit the last stitch and tucked in the last end on January 1st. It took much longer to dry though and the pictures are bad. There hasn't been any good daylight for pictures, when I was home, all week. I will really be glad when the days are finally long enough that there is decent day light in the morning or evening.

The pattern is Klukka from Lopi.

I made mine using Cascade 220. It's beautiful. Now I just need to find some where to wear it.

I was doing really well on the stash reduction but I bought yarn for socks and mittens at the year end sale at Personal Threads. The first sock is almost finished and as soon as I find the other skein of yarn I want I can start the mittens.

The new year looks promising.

Happy New Year!

I've had quite the year.

If I'm lucky and can stop falling asleep I might finish my first sweater of the year on the first day of the year.

I spent last night with friends celebrating the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012. I slept in this morning. I've managed two naps already and I've only been out of bed for 8 hours. I suspect I'll be calling it a night early tonight as well.

I had planned to knit a pair of socks today, that isn't going to happen. Maybe tomorrow.

I think my New Year Resolution is:

KNIT ALL THE THINGS.

I have cast on another sweater - Dogwood Blossom. My mother very kindly bought me the kit from Knitpicks last year as a birthday gift. It's a lovely green and pink colorway. I have one cuff done the second cast on. Then I will knit both sleeves at the same time. I am hoping that isn't crazy-making.

I have used a full ball of the main color in Klukka and I've almost used a whole ball of Gloss in Thermal. Great progress on both.

I was going to start Faery Ring, but I'm thinking about working up another pattern. It will be a great challenge since the pattern is very general with charts and for a size much larger than I need. (sorry Mom - but I'm still going to make a cable coat - does that make it okay?!) Or maybe not - maybe I'll just make Faery Ring.

Small Catch Up

October knitting that didn't get posted due to moving:

Socks for the Tour de Sock

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Another pair of Tour de Socks socks

There is a third pair but I'm having trouble loading the picture.

And this mystery shawl from Goddess knits. I haven't washed and blocked this yet, just pinned it out for the picture. Then packed it away for moving. Once I get settled and find it I will have to do a proper blocking and get some better pictures.

Finally Back to What Passes for Normal

I have the knitting lust again! I feel the need to knit all the patterns!

Thursday I have cast on a dress in Cascade 220. A dark green and white without the colorwork section. I have the white part nearly finished and I am ready to add the green.

Yesterday I cast on Thermal. A lovely dark blue shade of Gloss. I love this yarn. I made my mother a hat and a shawlette with it last winter. I have been wanting to make this sweater for a long time.

And I've made decent progress on Stockholm for my mother as well as finishing the matching hat.

It's much too dreary for pictures today and I don't have any decent lighting in the new place yet. But I hope to get some decants pictures soon.

I bought a lovely skein of lace weight last week, finished the sweater for my brother and sent it to my mother so she could put the zipper in and in October I knit 3 pairs of socks and a shawl. This only matters because I am finally in the knit more yarn that I bought for the year. Good news!